Self-feathering sculling oar



Sept. h 1940- I H. H. WHITEHEAD 2,213,538

SELF-FEATHERING SCULLING OAR Filed Sept. 10, 1939 Patented Sept. 3, 1940warren STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

The present invention relates to a' sculling oar of the type employed atthe stern of boats for effecting propulsion thereof. I

It is common practice to propel small water craft by a single oar placedat the stern of the boat and oscillated transversely of the stern of theboat. In order to effect the proper propulsion of the boat the blade ofthe oar is feathered during its oscillating movement by motion of thewrist of its operator, which requires knack developed only by longexperience.

The object of the present invention is to provide a sculling oar of theabove stated type which will be self-feathering as the oar is oscillatedby its operator, thus requiring no skill on the part of the operator andin the event of experienced operators does not require the tiring wristmovement necessary for effecting feathering.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a self-featheringsculling car of the above stated character having a simple, economical,durable and novel construction whereby the blade may be oscillatedalternately to assume oppositely oblique feathering positions withrespect to the plane of movement of the oar and to more readily assumethese positions in response to the pressure of the water thereagainst,according to the direction of movement of the handle; and further,whereby the pitch of the propelling action may be adjusted to the anglemost efficient on the boat with which it is being used.

With the above and other objects in View the invention resides in thesundry details of construction, combination of parts hereinafter morefully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, which shows one preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the oar constructed in accordance withthe present invention and shown placed in position on the stern ortransom of a boat;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1, showin in dotted lines thedifferent positions the blade assumes during operation;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 33 ofFigure 1; and

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 44 ofFigure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, in which like characters refer tosimilar and like parts throughout the several views, Ill denotes theloom having at one end a handle portion II and having pivotally mountedon its other end a blade I2.

The loom I0 and the handle II may be made of one piece of material,preferably wood, and the loom preferably extends at an obtuse angle withrespect to the handle. In sculling oars of the type above indicated thehandle I I is made relatively long in order to provide a requiredleverage and further to better accommodate the oar to the position ofits operator, who usually stand in the stern portion of the boat.

The blade I2 may be of any desired shape or construction but in order tofacilitate the propulsion is relatively long and wide, as shown in thedrawing, and has extending from its rear end a shank I5. The outer endof the shank I5 is pivotally secured to the loom, while the inner end ofthe shank is pivotally secured to the outer end of the loom, thesepivots being arranged out of alignment or offset with respect to eachother so as to effect a feathering action of the blade as the handle IIoscillates the loom in a direction transverse of the boat or craft.

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More specifically, it is preferred to have a 001- f lar I6 surroundingthe outer end of the shank I5 and providing a longitudinal socket in theend' of the shank I5 into which loosely extends an arm I! laterallyextending from a stud I8, projecting,

preferably, but not necessarily, for a distance and the arm I5b, whichlatter is preferably provided by a laterally extending portion of areinforcing plate I5a secured to the shank I5. Thus, it will be seenthat the pivots III and II are on different centers, so as togive theblade at proper oblique feathering pitch on opposite sides of the loomduring the transverse oscillating movement of the handle II. Because ofthe disposition of the pivots and the manner in which they are connectedwith the blade or the shank thereof, it will be obvious that the bladewill swing from said pivots in opposite directions laterally of the loomso that the blade will shift laterallyof the loom" when alternatelymoved to its feathering positions.

It will be understood that the blade may assume any position, when thesculling oar is not in operation and is illustrated in full lines asbeing vertically disposed. However, this vertical position of the car ismerely for convenience of illustration as the car may asume: any tilt orpitch position when idle. When the car is being operated, however, inthe direction indicated by the arrow as (Figure 2) the blade will assumethe position indicated at 1:, whereas when the oscillation of the bladeis reversed at the end of its movement as, the blade will be instantlyflipped, by the pressure of the water thereagainst and the movement ofthe handle II, to feather the blade to the position shown at y, thepositions and y may be considered as the limit of motion of the blade inthe directions a: and y.

The degree of diagonal or oblique feathering pitch of the blade 52 onopposite sides of the loom should be increased and decreased fordifferent crafts in order to obtain the most efiicient results, and tothis end means has been provided for varying the degree of theself-feathering pitch. This means may be of any suitable character butis here shown as comprising a set screw 20 extending through the shank15 of the blade and threaded in'the plate la. The end 2'! of the setscrew is designed to contact upstanding flanges or stops 22 on oppositeedge portions of the plate Mia and which are arranged in the path ofmovement of the end 2! of the set screw 28 when the blade is feathered.These flanges 22 are inclined outwardly from the plate so as to enable awide degree of variation of pitch by moving the end 2! of the set screwaway from or closer to the plate Hla as may be desired.

The oarlock l3 preferably has the handle portion H at a point adjacentthe loom pivctally mounted in a stirrup H311 on a horizontal axis 83bprovided by a bolt ,or other suitable means as shown in the drawing.Thus by means of the spindle l4 and the pivot I321 the movement of theblade may be universal within its limit of movement at the stern of thecraft 25.

From the above it will be seen that a very simple, effective, anddesirable self-feathering oar has been provided, the blade of which willrespond more readily to the pressure of water impinging thereagainst toshift to alternate feathering positions for sculling purposes, which maybe used by unskilled persons by not requiring the wrist or turningmovement of the handle for effecting the feathering operation andwherein the feathering action can be adjusted to meet the requirementsof any particular boat capable of being sculled.

Having thus described the invention and the manner in which the same isto be performed, it is to be understood that the invention is not to belimited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described,as the invention contemplates modifications and variations within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-feathering oar comprising a handle, loom and blade, pivotmeans connecting the blade to the loom at two points, the axes of saidpivots extending in the general longitudinal direction of the loom andoffset one above the other, whereby the blade may oscillate toalternately assume oppositely oblique feathering positions more readilyin response to the pressure of the water thereagainst according to thedirection of movement of the handle.

2. A self-feathering sculling car as set forth inclaim 1 furthercharacterized by adjustable means for varying the degree of oscillatorymovement of said blade for adapting the oar to the requirements ofdifferent boats.

3. A self-feathering sculling oar comprising a handle, loom and blade,pivot means securing the blade to the loom at remote points along thelength of the loom, the axes of said pivots being offset one above theother, whereby the blade may oscillate to alternately assume oppositelyoblique feathering positions more readily in response to the pressure ofthe water thereagainst according to the direction of movement of thehandle. 4. A self-feathering sculling oar comprising a loom having ahandle end, a blade having a shank extending therefrom, pivot meansconnecting the free end of the shank to the loom at a point removed fromthe other end of the loom, and pivot means securing the shank to theloom at said other end portion of the loom, the axes of both said pivotmeans extending in the same direction and being offset one above theother, whereby the blade may oscillate to alternately assume oppositelyoblique feathering positions more readily in response to the pressure ofthe water thereagainst according to the direction of movement of thehandle.

5. A self-feathering sculling oar comprising a loom having a handle end,a blade disposed at the opposite end of the loom and having a shankoverlying the loom; pivot means connecting the free end of the shank tothe loom at a point removed from said opposite end of the loom, adepending lateral flange at said opposite end of the loom, and pivotmeans securing the blade to the outer end portion of said flange, theaxes of said pivots extending in the general longitudinal direction ofthe blade.

6. A self-feathering sculling oar comprising a loom having a handle end,a blade disposed at the opposite end of the loom and having a shankoverlying the loom, pivot means connecting the free end of the shank tothe loom at a point removed from said opposite end of the loom, andpivot means securing the shank to the loom at said opposite end portionof the loom, the axes of said pivots and the loom extending in the samedirection with the axes of said pivots offset with respect to each otherwhereby the blade may be moved alternately to oppositely obliquefeathering positions, an adjustable member on the shank and arranged toengage the loom, for varying the degree of movement of the blade aboutsaid pivot means to adapt the oar to the requirements of difierentboats.

HUGH HOLlVLES WHI'IEHEAD.

